"Grandma" nickname is more of a slogan for Strayhorn,

Texas Comptroller and gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn has asked to be listed as "Carole Keeton ‘Grandma' Strayhorn" on the Nov. 7 ballot, according to news reports.

But putting "Grandma" on the ballot would be including Strayhorn's political slogan on the ballot, instead of referring to her by a nickname, says a University of North Texas political scientist.

Dr. John Todd, an associate professor and author of the book, "Texas Government: The Challenge of Change," says it's stretching the truth to say that "Grandma" is Strayhorn's nickname.

"People have not commonly referred to her as Grandma Strayhorn, or Grandma Rylander before she remarried," he says. "The phrase, ‘One Tough Grandma,' has been associated with her, but it has functioned as more of a campaign slogan than a nickname."

Todd says Strayhorn is probably trying to attach the nickname ‘Grandma' to herself "in hopes that it will help people correctly identify her after her name change from Rylander to Strayhorn."

"She doesn't want to lose voters who may not follow her closely enough to keep track of her name changes," he says.